Petredis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 134 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Petredis Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,270 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

BDX opened at $243.69 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.88. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $248.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $70.67 billion, a PE ratio of 41.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.